


they're just hopelessly gazing

by asymptotes



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, louis liam and zayn are second years, niall and harry are freshmen, slight BDSM, uni!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-06 07:57:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1104361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asymptotes/pseuds/asymptotes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>things were always simple between niall and harry</p><p>until they weren't</p><p>maybe they never had been</p><p>uni!au basically</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

niall raked a hand through his dirty-blonde hair, taking in the sight before him. 

he definitely didn’t see this every day. niall breathed in shakily and drew his eyes over a long naked back which was illuminated softly by the dingy light on the bedside table. he felt something tighten in his groin as he saw the sinews under olive toned skin twist when the other boy adjusted his position. the thing is that he loved the feel of skin on skin and it was a marvel to see the naked expanse of someone’s back from this angle. surreal. it felt like niall was high or something. all he could focus on was the broad of the other boy's bare shoulders leading to the dark curls at the base of his neck. niall reached down, squeezing himself, trying not to come right then and there. 

the blonde boy was brought out of this reverie when the other boy, _harry_ looked over his shoulder, all blown-out eyes and cherry lips. he asked in exasperation:

“what are you waiting for mate? the irish team to win the world cup?” the dark-haired boy had an easy smile on his face from what niall could see of it, betraying urgency of his words.

niall scoffed, playing along. “oh you’re gonna pay for that”

the resulting keen that came from harry’s throat suggested that he didn’t mind any punishment. 

the two boys had tumbled into harry’s bed almost an hour ago, chests pressed together and feverish kissing until their lips were numb. it was very convenient that harry had a single room. a godsend really. they were both shirtless and kissing eagerly, enjoying the feel of each others skin. niall couldn’t stop himself from jerking his hips upwards, the friction was too good. they broke the kiss after a while, breathing heavily. harry sat up and toyed with niall’s belt hurriedly as if they didn’t have all the time in the world. maybe they didn’t. niall shook the thought off and looked up at harry, smirking at his urgency. his brows were furrowed and his cherry, spit-slick lips pouted in concentration. “need to get these off,” harry had murmured. “not enough skin.”

the alcohol in harry’s system won over his desperation for ridding niall of his jeans. harry huffed and rested his arms at his sides helplessly. niall barked out a laugh at harry’s impatience. he rolled off of the bed in a swift movement and stood at its side, shirtless, hands at the waistband. 

“you want these off?” niall asked innocently. he was always more confident when he was drunk but niall had heard recently from louis (who had ears all around campus) that there were girls who thought that he was hot and wanted to “fuck his brains out” so he thought he might as well act like it. he was pretty sure harry wanted his pants off.

harry kneeled on his bed, boxers still on, eyeing niall hungrily. the weight of harry’s gaze was insistent, penetrating as always. it sent a shiver up niall’s spine, being looked at as a piece of meat, something to be devoured. a delightful feeling, really. the blond boy wanted to pin harry to the bed then and there and give him what he wanted, but that would be no fun. it was all about the teasing with harry, niall had learned. niall played with his button idly, looking down and contemplating his waistband, as if he had no intention of taking them off.

harry exhaled in a huff. “come on niall, just take them off already.” 

niall smirked and sauntered back towards the bed in his jestering way of his. “ah, ah, ah,” niall said softly. he stopped at the edge of the bed and carded his hand through harry’s hair. niall tugged lightly and harry lifted his head, looking at niall through half-lidded eyes. “what’s the magic word, princess?” niall looked down at harry, licking his lips.

harry put his hand to himself with a soft groan, shutting his eyes. niall could see now that harry was hard, very hard. he could make out the curved outline of harry’s cock through his boxers, his pre-come staining the material a dark grey. niall licked his lips again and swallowed, waiting. 

“please.” harry uttered low in his throat before inhaling shakily and opening his eyes which were completely lust-blown now.

niall nodded and gave harry a quick peck on the collarbone. “that’s better.” the blonde boy unzipped his jeans and briefs at the same time and shucked them across the room before pushing harry back on to the bed. 

_

half an hour, two blow jobs and the necessary prep later, harry was on his hands and knees glaring back at niall impatiently. harry was always more pushy when he was intoxicated. niall would never say, but he thought it was pretty cute. “really, come on mate, i’m so hard i feel like i’m going to explode.” harry muttered. 

niall grunted, the low sound echoing the dimly lit room. he slid his hands over harry’s hips to shut him up. for some reason this time, niall wanted harry quiet. he did this slowly as possible. niall made slow work of dragging his hands up harry’s toned thighs, up to his pillowy bottom where he kneaded the skin a bit, just appreciating the feel of it.

niall leaned forward rubbing his cock against harry’s crack deliberately. “you have such an incredible arse,” he said, before pulling away and creating distance between them again.

harry keened and shifted his weight backwards, inching his arse towards niall’s crotch.

“honestly niall, you’re such a tease, why don’t you-”

niall tightened his grip on harry’s hip with one hand and steadied himself with the other and pushed inside harry with a silent pop. niall was insistent, clutching harry’s hips and pushing inside steadily until he bottomed out.

harry moaned, growing overworked and dropped his head onto the mattress, resting on his elbows now. 

“are you alright?” niall asks, just to be sure.

harry pants for a few moments before nodding. he sits backwards allowing himself to take more of niall in.

niall let out a silent sob. he didn’t think he could ever get used to harry’s heat. he leaned even more forward, gripping the headboard with one hand and still tightly gripping his friends’ hip with the other. niall pulled back a bit and thrusted in again. harry was nearly catatonic now, chest heaving and all shaky breaths.

“you like that?” niall gritted out, the small noises harry was making giving him an obvious answer.

the blonde haired boy rested his chin on the darker boy’s shoulder and moved again joltingly.

“fuck,” harry said.

 

the five of them had all met during the first week of the semester. 

all of the freshman we’re made to go to this outdoors roundtable event where they could check out the clubs that would be going on around campus that year. harry had arrived while some booths were still setting up, notebook in hand, ever prudent. 

he was excited to join whatever club he found most interesting. harry meandered around the field curiously, hands clasped behind his back, peering at the different clubs. he felt himself already getting wayward glances from some of the other freshmen. harry knew he had this distinct charisma, what with his tall stature and curly hair and flannels and his cheeky grin and the pointed boots and what not. whether he noticed the attention or not, one could never tell because harry was gracious like that.

the dark-haired boy had gravitated naturally over to the left side of the field where he spotted a club that seemed intriguing. there were three guys manning the booth (if you could call it that) and only one person in line. 

their banner was haphazardly hung and messy-looking, as if the group had only made and put it up five minutes ago. they probably had, by the looks of it. the sign said only “welcome” in black spray paint with a pair of crudely drawn headphones beside it, the paint dripping down the banner, staining the desk below.

whatever the group was, it seemed damned cool. harry loped over, turning his smile on.  
he could see that the guy who was in line had his hands on the desk, nodding eagerly as a group member with sincere brown eyes was talking animatedly to him about something. the other freshman had a shock of blond hair peeping out of his snapback, and had long limbs that seemed to be buzzing excitedly with every word the group member said. closer to harry was were the two other boys behind the booth. one was strikingly handsome, with opal eyes and raven black hair. he didn’t notice harry, looking down at his phone distractedly. the other one was a bit shorter with a full head of wispy brown hair and had his hands cupped above his beady eyes, surveying the field as if from atop a large mountain. it was he who brought everyone’s attention to harry with a bellow:  


“oy, we’ve got another potential one!”

the three other boys fixed eyes on harry immediately, who stood a ways in front of the booth now. six more eyes on harry, standing there with his notebook clutched in his hand and he felt suddenly sheepish.

“err, hi lads. i was just wondering what this club was about?” harry found himself asking. he knocked his knees together, fidgeting.

the other four boys looked at each other and the three behind the booth burst into laughter, chuckling to themselves. harry turned to the blond boy in line, wide-eyed. he was looking for some sort of support and was startled by the scintillating blue that made up his bemused expression. they were the kind of eyes that one would notice across the room. 

off-duty model look-alike spoke up, his hazel eyes twinkling in the afternoon sun:  
“we’re not actually a club, mate. we just thought we’d set-up a booth here for a laugh and see if we got any sign-ups. i’m zayn by the way,” he said, saluting harry languidly.

the shorter boy who was surveying the crowd piped in, a mischievous smile on his face, likely at harry’s amused expression: “the name’s louis. if anyone asks you, we’re starting a radio show.”

“louis, i thought we _were_ starting a radio show!” this was from the sincere looking boy who looked like a teddy bear and a professional soccer player all at once. he glared at the shorter boy frowning.

“sure, whatever you say liam,” louis replied brightly.

and they all started to chuckle again as if this was some amazing joke. though he was amused, harry’s heart sank. he had this thing about being included and he already felt like an outsider. he took in the three musketeers and their laughter and the blonde one, who was smiling along as if he got what they were laughing about. he’d just walked into a non-existent club seemingly more exclusive than the ones that were actually Dean-approved. harry smiled curtly and began to contemplate a polite exit when the blond boy walked over to him, offering his hand in an invitation to a handshake.

“hey, i’m niall,” the boy said, with an open smile that matched the bright openness of his face. the blonde boy, _niall_ , harry told himself was slightly shorter than him but he made eye contact with harry as if they were on the same level, equals. niall had steely blue eyes that would take the breath of anyone who had a weakness for the type. it seemed like niall was one of those people who didn’t know how attractive they were.  


harry had to stop himself from looking too long.

“harry,” harry said grasping his hand firmly. they shook, still maintaining eye contact. 

“so you’re a freshman, i’m guessing” niall continued.  
“what hall are you in?” it was such a forward question, harry thought, for having just met the kid, but niall had a sincere earnestness about himself that made people comfortable. 

“first north,” harry replied, tilting his head to the side flirtatiously. harry decided the moment the words came out of his mouth he’d join whatever pseudo-club this was. membership and all. “what about you?”

harry was a naturally flirty person, regardless of the situation or the person's gender or anything inconsequential like that. it was kind of hard to not with someone as cute as niall.

if the other boy noticed the charm, harry wouldn’t have known because he just chortled inanely loudly.

“no way, bro! me too!’ niall exclaimed, all raised eyebrows and white teeth.

“oh wow!” harry intoned, a smile creeping across his lips. “well would you look at that. do you have a roommate?”

please be in a single. please BE single, harry implored silently. 

“yeah i do! he’s a right lad. you’ve got to come check it out sometime, we both moved in a couple days ago and it looks spiffy, if i do say so m’self.” niall finished brightly. 

harry felt a warmth creep over his cheeks. it seemed niall had a slight irish lilt and harry was a sucker for accents. he decided then that niall was one of the cutest people he had ever met. his eyes lit up beautifully and he seemed so happy, all over a room. 

“wow, inviting me to your room already, niall. shouldn’t you at least by me dinner first?” harry said, smirking. he looked at niall directly, waiting to see how he would react. 

niall burst into a fit of laughter and harry felt himself giggling too. it was all ridiculously infectious. niall had a laugh like the breaking of the sun over the horizon. 

“ha, you’re too funny mate,” niall said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“i try,” harry replied, shrugging. he was so fucked.

“oy, when you two lads have quite finished we’ve got to start planning our first meeting.” louis bellowed, too loud, drawing attention from the other lines.

“they’re not as twattish as they might seem.” niall whispered under his breath to harry. “they’re pretty cool actually.”

harry got a cheap thrill at hearing the other boys voice so low. he allowed himself to wonder how it would sound at that level, quiet in more compromising situations for a moment, but recovered quickly. 

“yeah i bet. even if they are twattish, first year is about new experiences anyways, right?” harry glanced at niall out of the corner of his eye, cool on the outside. inside his head, harry was thinking, calculating, careful. he knew he was testing the waters, seeing just how much he could say, already.

niall turned to him, a subtle smile playing on his lips. 

“yeah, definitely.” the blonde boy replied airily. niall looked at harry searchingly and nodded. they eyed each other a bit longer before walking over.

harry, trying to remain smooth and calm on the outside, was struggling contain his excitement. this was too good.

“great. now that we’re all here,” louis cleared his throat as if preparing to give a big speech. 

“the first item on our itinerary is where we’re getting our first ounce of weed for the semester from.” 

liam groaned. “you can count me out, lads. i’m going to be in two plays this year and i do not want to blank out from my lines on stage.”

zayn shrugged and offered: “i can give you a couple numbers.”

louis looked over at harry and niall appraisingly, as if challenging them to back out.

thankfully, niall piped up. 

“i’m in. i brought a pretty nice bong from home, but i didn’t think i’d be using it so soon.”

harry wasn’t a big fan of weed. it made him feel a bit woozy, and he said even more ridiculous things than when he was sober. but if blondie was in, ( _niall_ , _niall_ ) then harry guessed he was in too.

“i can pitch,” harry found himself offering. he had no idea what he was getting himself into. he didn’t get to ponder this decision for long before louis clapped his hands together.

“perfecto. that’s the spirit! we’re gonna have a great year lads!” louis grinned excitedly.

zayn rolled his eyes, turning back to his phone. liam shook his head, looking at louis with a mixture of annoyance and awe. 

niall and harry just smiled furtively at each other at louis’ excitement. 

it was going to be a great year indeed. 

-


	2. 2

and so it was. it turned out that liam, louis and zayn were all second years that would do basically anything to have a laugh, which explained the bogus booth at events day. liam was a live-in upperclassmen at one of the other residences and the latter two lived in an apartment just off-campus. harry and niall passed their apartment oftentimes during all of the events during freshers’ week. zayn had told niall before the activities started to shoot him or louis a text whenever they passed their place and one of them would pop out and give them a shot if someone was home.

“i didn’t get drunk enough last year,” louis said, smirking to himself with all the air of a seasoned veteran. 

“i only blacked out twice. drink responsibly gentlemen,” he advised solemnly, eyes flitting between harry and niall as if he were a concerned parent.

the two boys became quick friends that week. niall liked it that he found someone that was just as carefree and enjoyed being fun as much as he did, so soon.

it was during the last day of fresher’s week that he realized this. they were in a dark pub surrounded by a hundred other freshmen only who one common goal in mind: to as drunk as possible. niall had just downed his fourth beer, chucking the empty plastic cup at the dingy circular table with a feeble whoop. he was nicely buzzed, but the bar was too packed. he’d come in with harry but had lost him about two beers ago. niall figured he was off somewhere in the pub chatting up some girl. niall had known harry for almost a week now and he could tell that he was a bit of a character. he carded a hand through his hair, scanning the sea of colourful event t-shirts for a familiar mop of brown hair. he felt himself cross his arms across his chest. 

“someone’s bored,” someone said in his ear from behind him, louder than the din. niall spun around to see harry, standing alone with two plastic cups of beer. harry’s hair is even more disheveled than usual and he had a tinge of drunken excitement in his eyes. a perpetual smile tugged across his wet cherry lips as if he was always about to laugh at something.

“someone’s plastered,” niall shouts back over the din.

harry handed niall one of the cups, nodding and raised his own. “cheers.” 

a few more beers later and they are both more than tipsy. niall found himself doing his best Clint Eastwood impression and was pleased to see harry clutching his side, wheezing from laughter. niall was egged on by harry’s reaction and pulled out his best Barack Obama next. you could say he was trying to impress. 

“okay enough, enough, i’m dying here,” harry said in his ear, leaning in. niall watched as harry ordered two more beers and looked around the pub surreptitiously. it was hard not getting overwhelmed and lost in harry’s energy, niall found. the taller boy turned back to niall with a wicked grin playing on his lips.

“watch this,” harry drawled and tilted his head backwards, exposing his throat, chugging the rest of his drink. harry smirked silently around the rim at niall, his eyes twinkling mischievously above it. niall watched as harry in dim surprise as loped confidently over to the nearest table and clutched its edge, lifting himself on top of it. 

“a toast!” harry bellowed, raising his empty cup. “to the class of 2017!”

the pub erupted in raucous cheers and niall couldn’t help himself from losing to the noise and cheering along. 

“hey! freshman! get down from there.”

one of the organizers glared at harry sternly from the floor beside the table and motioned furiously for him get down. harry looked down at her innocently, eyebrows furrowed, feigning ignorance. _me?_ harry closed his eyes and tilted his head to the music, cup still in the air, swaying slowly. niall looked up at him incredulously. who was that confident? niall blinked a couple times through his hazy vision. he took in harry’s strong jawline, his brown locks shining in the dim light of the pub, the undeniable length of harry’s body. niall had to admit it to himself, harry was a pretty good looking guy. niall closed his eyes shaking his head. maybe he was drunker than he thought. he didn’t get to consider the implications of this thought for long:

“out, out!” the organizer yelled shrilly, the bartender now beside her. harry lifted both arms in the air, as if resisting arrest and climbed down from the table languidly. the pub erupted with a second round of cheers. harry sauntered back over to the bar where niall still stood, a cheeky grin on his face. 

niall leaned into harry’s ear, brushing it, a bit too close, and said loudly. “let’s get out of here yeah?”

harry just nodded slowly and they started maneuvering through the stumbling mass towards the exit. it was almost an impossible measure, so harry reached his hand backwards, turning to niall. niall takes it without thinking, intertwining their fingers. harry’s grasp was tight and they make it out in no time, the cheers and applause chasing their backs.

\- 

the crisp evening air hits them like a slap to the face. it was surprisingly bright on the busy street compared to the dark of the pub. the two stood side by side blinking for a moment, their bleary eyes adjusting to the light. harry felt slightly lightheaded all of a sudden. his head seemed like an empty space and his knees made of jello. harry brought a hand to his head squinting down at niall, who was at the ground, struggling to tie the laces of his trainers.

“i am way too drunk for a thursday night.” harry murmured, leaning on a lamppost.

niall stood up and rested a hand on harry’s shoulder playfully. “you can never be too drunk on any day, my friend,” niall replied. 

harry felt his cheeks harden. 

“yeah, whatever, irish,” he replied, putting his hand on niall’s shoulder mockingly. the two chuckled amicably and started in the direction of their residence hall.

as his drunken stupor started to wear off, harry started to ponder the boy he’d met at events day. the one who he’d magically, miraculously become friends with. it seemed to harry that niall always knew what to say. he was inadvertently perfect, all boyish grins and breezy self-assuredness and blue, blue eyes. he was the type of guy that harry would’ve assumed to be an asshole, but it’d been almost a week now and he hadn’t proven harry right yet. 

they walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence except for when harry stopped to snap funny picture of niall posing with local landmarks. when they entered the building lobby it was filled with the sound of conversation of the other residents, all presumably drunk too. they stopped amid all this, unsure how to proceed, suddenly sober with the thought.

harry glanced at niall furtively. he really wanted to keep being around the other boy, but he was sure he had other things to do, girls to meet or something. most importantly, harry didn’t want to come off as desperate or too forward or anything. 

niall put his hands in his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet, looking at harry expectantly. it was the uneasy widening silence between two people that wanted to continue a conversation but didn’t know how. harry figured there was no harm in asking and it seemed like the polite thing to do.

“do you want to check out my room?” he broke the quiet that seemed to expand all around them.  
“i mean, i saw yours yesterday, only fair you get to see mine,” harry finished with a smile. he could feel his cheeks heating up and hoped the other boy would attribute this to the alcohol they had been drinking. 

“sure! i haven’t really been to anyone else’s yet.” niall replied, and they headed upstairs to harry’s room in comfortable silence. 

“it might be a bit messy,” harry said sheepishly before opening his door.

the room was a bit bigger than most of the dorm rooms were but pretty standard looking. his bed was unkempt, with white sheets and a band posters hanging above it. on his bedside table was a small picture frame of himself, his mother and his sister. there were a few articles of clothing on the floor, and a record player in the corner. harry was painfully aware of niall's eyes grazing across the room.

they stopped on the desk on the far side by the window, where his work was. its surface was covered by polaroids and glossy pictures strewn across its surface. the photographs all had different subjects by the look of it. portraits, a hilly green, a candid of a friend blowing out candles on a birthday, a self-portrait, the profile of a modern looking building.

niall picked up one of the photos, the self-portrait, which was a medium-sized black and white print of harry sitting on a stool and wearing a black collared shirt in front of a polka dot background. his expression was a combination of mirth and seriousness, as if he doubted the picture was being taken. it was an odd choice, but harry liked it. he’d won a competition for the shot in senior year. 

“you took these?” the blonde boy asked, a tinge of awe in his voice.

harry shrugged humbly and rubbed the back of his neck. “yeah, it’s uh, a bit of a hobby of mine.”

niall peered down at the photo for a time and harry felt like sinking into the floor. he clasped his hands behind his back nervously. he was about to say, “that was for a project in school, not too fond of that one,” when niall interrupted his thoughts.

“i’m not an expert, but mate. you’re like, really talented.” niall looked over at harry, eyes bright and direct. the blonde boy waved his hands wildly, brandishing the photo.  
“i mean look at this! you look like a proper stud. a movie star from the sixties or something!” niall finished, setting the photo back on the desk.

harry’s chest swelled from the inside. niall’s look was so earnest and honest, harry couldn’t take it. he just wanted to flop into his bed, pulling the other boy with him and thank him for the kind words with kisses. he imagined them rolling in his sheets together, giggling softly in each others ears at everything and nothing. niall would finally let harry pin him, sitting on his waist. he would lean down and kiss niall’s lips, then his neck, then those adorable birthmarks down its side. _thank you, thank you, thank you._

harry coughed lightly, a smile playing on his face at the thought. “thanks, niall. how kind of you.”

-


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> visiting this au again 
> 
> harry and niall are so cute

if you asked niall, the first few weeks of his semester went pretty smoothly. he missed Mullingar from time to time of course, but by involving himself in school that homesick pang he used to feel in his chest in the morning went away. this improvement was partly thanks to the football team (he had been surprised and elated to have made) and to the friends niall had made on that first day. 

it was one of the weirdest situations in which niall had ever made friends, but he rolled with it. he always did. niall was adaptable like that.

he could watch a stupid movie with louis at his apartment, do serious studying in the library with liam, share a joint with zayn on his balcony, and he practically spent the rest of his time with harry. that was just how it worked out.

they both had the same weekly psychology lecture. it was on wednesday nights ending at 9. they would always walk to the building together, sometimes in silence, sometimes talking, their shoulders brushing in camaraderie. at the lecture, they would inevitably goof off between taking notes. niall would imitate the lecturers dull tone flawlessly and harry would make sarcastic remarks about students questions with that smug smirk on his face that would always bring a familiar swoop to niall's stomach. 

they’d hunch over harry’s laptop, faces too close, snickering about something. after classes when harry didn’t have photography club or niall didn’t have footy practice, they would chill in either of their rooms chatting idly and shooting the shit. 

it was one of these nights after their psych lecture when they entered their hall and niall told harry to give him five minutes and he’d be up to his room. niall took the stairs swiftly to his own room. upon opening the door, he caught the sight of his roommate and a girl sitting on his bed kissing silently. at the sound of niall entering the room they both froze turning to niall, stricken.

niall pushed out a chuckle. it’s not like his roommate had told him he would be bringing a girl home and it was his room as much as anyone elses. still his roommate eyed niall with a icy look in his eye that said “get out.” 

“i’ll be leaving, i just came to get my 12 pack.”

niall’s words were met with terse silence, so he loped over to the shared refrigerator quickly and took out the beers and exited the room with a flourish. walking up the stairs to harry’s room, niall tried to swallow down a mounting prickle in his throat. he stomped up the stairs, letting the echo of the metal bannister ring out. the empty sound satisfied somehow. niall stood outside harry’s door. there was a sign on it that said “harry’s room, come in” with a lopsided winking smiley face on it in harry’s simple block lettering. niall took in a deep breath, adjusted the snapback on his head, and exhaled in a huff. harry whipped the door open before the other boy could knock a third time. 

“ah, i see you brought refreshments.” harry said. niall nodded curtly, trying to formulate his expression into something that resembled a smile. as he stepped further into the room, the familiar buttery scent of popcorn reached his nose.

“you made popcorn,” niall uttered flatly, a smile starting on his face.

harry grinned sheepishly. “yeah, i thought we could watch a movie.”

“sounds good.”

“that new anchorman spot?” harry continued, “you mentioned it last week. found it online.” harry offers, walking over his bed to where his laptop was. 

niall felt himself grinning and walked over to harry’s bed and flopped in unceremoniously. 

“perfect.”

*

harry’s head was swimming pleasantly, the buzz of the beer niall brought up settling in.   
he hummed along with the themed music in the end credits, eyes closed. the room was bathed in a blue indigo glow, the laptop screen providing the only light.

harry didn’t think he could get more comfortable than this. he was in bed, tipsy, content and warm. some of the heat could be attributed to the boy that was reclined beside him. remembering himself, harry opened his eyes and looked down at his friend.

niall’s face was completely relaxed except for his eyebrows which were raised, disappearing under the brim of his snapback. he snored lightly, his chest rising and lowering with his breaths. niall’s lips were small and pink and slightly parted, twisting into shapes at whatever he must’ve been dreaming.

harry coughed loudly, folding his laptop closed. he was just getting ridiculous.   
niall stirred a little but remained asleep his eyes firmly shut. harry sighed and jostled his friend by the shoulder, forcing him awake.

niall frowned, his eyes opening bleary and unfocused (and ridiculously cute, harry thought) but then focused on his friends face.

harry coughed again lightly, rubbing a hand down his face. “sorry mate. it’s just that the movie ended a bit ago.” he finished, smiling slightly.

niall shot up, looking around the room. 

“argh, i’m so sorry for falling asleep on you mate.” he swung a leg over the bed. “i should go.”

harry felt an urgent tightening of his chest as the cool air in the absence of niall fell over his lower body. 

“don’t.” he uttered.

niall froze, still halfway upright on the bed. he raised his eyebrows, peering back at his friend.

“i mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to?” harry continued, feeling his neck heat up. god, why did he have to be so stupid.

niall chuckled and ran a hand through his hair tersely. 

“i don’t really want to go back, to be honest,” he looked over at harry, his eyes lowered. “my roomates kind of being a dick.”

harry perked up at the opportunity to hear niall open up about something. him and niall were close, but they rarely talked about things that upset them. this was probably because they were both so easygoing. he knew, though still, that niall couldn’t be mr.brightside all of the time. he thinks back to the other boys expression when he opened the door, hours earlier. his face was still eager, open, niall, but clouded over, like an ominous shadow had fallen over his face. harry, wanted to know more. he had to.

“that sucks. want to tell me about it?” harry offers, patting the spot that niall was just laying.

niall huffs, easing himself back into bed. harry closes his eyes and listens as niall recounts the episode that happened before he knocked on his door.

“it’s just that, there’s no -like, protocol, you know? it’s not my fault he didn’t let me know he was planning on that. i live there too.” niall finished. 

harry nodded silently, imagining niall’s expression of surprise upon opening the door. his pink mouth would drop open in shock. a light blush would start up his neck. niall’s chest would probably start heaving from embarrassment as he crossed the room to the fridge. niall didn’t deserve that. harry wished he could make niall react all of those ways from his touch, from the heat of his gaze. of course, harry said none of this out loud.

“harry, mate? are you listening?” niall asked. he slid himself further under the covers until only his eyes, appearing a steel grey in the dark of the room, were visible.

harry yawned and nodded. “i am. maybe you should talk to him about it tomorrow. set some ground rules.” he checks the time on his cellphone. “better make that later today.”

“what time is it?” niall asks, his voice muffled by the blanket.

“half past three.” harry replies, voice lower than usual. “you can stay here if you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys liked it,
> 
> this is the first chapter, will be posting ones in the future (trust me i've written almost 10k)
> 
> comments always appreciated :)


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